Prince Edward Island Facts

General:

Prince Edward Island is known as The Birthplace of Confederation for hosting the Charlottetown Conference in September 1864. These discussions led to the formation of Canada. Founders’ Hall – Canada’s Birthplace Pavilion is a tribute to Charlottetown’s important place in Canadian History as the Birthplace of Canada.
PEI joined Confederation in 1873 and is Canada’s smallest province.
The population is approximately 140,000, over 56% of the population lives in rural communities
Over 1.5 M people visit Prince Edward Island each year.
Charlottetown is home to the Anne of Green Gables – The Musical, the longest running musical in Canada.
The shellfish and seafood industry is very important to the PEI economy, representing the third largest industry in the province after agriculture and tourism.
The 12.9 kilometre Confederation Bridge between PEI and New Brunswick opened in 1997.
There are 5,648 km (3,530 mi) of roadway.
Ferry service from Wood Island, PEI to Caribou, Nova Scotia runs for 8 months of the year (May 01 to December 20) - weather and ice permitting.
The major industries in the province are agriculture, tourism, fishing and manufacturing.
There are two lobster seasons. The first runs from approximately the 1st of May to the end of June on the north side of PEI from North Cape to East Point and along the east coast to Victoria. The second season runs from approximately mid-August to mid-October on the south side of PEI from west of Victoria to North Cape.
Each September, the Prince Edward Island International Shellfish Festival is located on the historic Charlottetown Waterfront. The festival takes places the third weekend in September. The dates for the 2007 festival are September 14 – 16, 2007.

Lobster:

Lobster is the largest fishery, valued at $250M.
There are 1,300 licensed lobster fishermen on PEI.
2005 landings were reported at 18.5 million pounds, a value of $103M to local fishermen.
Over 5000 Islanders are employed through the lobster fishery.
There are two lobster fishing seasons: May – June and August – September. The spring season represents 85% of landings.
Two sizes of lobster can be caught, canners and markets. Canners must weigh between 1/2 and 3/4 pound, while market lobsters weigh over pounds.
15% of the catch is shipped live to the fresh market, 85% is frozen processed product.
85% of lobster is exported outside Canada to the US & Europe.
Most lobsters caught are between 5-7 years old.
Cooking lobster – should be cooked in clean seawater or salted fresh water, 2 TBSP of salt to each litre of water. Fill a large pot with enough water to cover the lobster & bring to a boil. Canners will take between 12-15 minutes to cook and markets can take up to 20 minutes.
Lobster can live out of water for up to 36 hours.

Mussels:

The 2005 landings for mussels were 35 Million, a landed value of $21M, a value of $45M to the local economy.
1500 Islanders are employed in the mussel industry.
It takes 2 years to grow a mussel from seed to harvest.
10,000 acres of waters are leased to mussel growers.
Mussels are harvested all year-round, even in the winter months through the ice.
PEI is the largest producer of cultivated mussels, representing 80% of total Canadian production.
Cooking Mussels – For a 1-Kg of mussels, steam in a covered pot over medium heat for 7-10 minutes or until the shells are wide open and the meat is coming loose from the shell. Serve with melted butter.

Oysters:

The 2005 landings were 6.3 million pounds, with a landed value of $5.6M, a value to the economy of $15M.
Known as one of the world’s finest oysters. PEI Malpeque Oysters and other brands have superior taste, quality and appearance.
Fishermen still use traditional hand held rakes for harvesting growing beds.
Oysters can be baked, steamed, grilled or used in specialty dishes. Shucked oysters can be deep-fried, sautéed or used in stews or chowders.
PEI is the leading producer of the American Oyster.
Live oysters should have tightly closed undamaged shells. They can be stored for up to 3 weeks.